Upon returning to Dragon's Glory City, as expected, the Blood Devil appeared before Qi Ling. Looking at the confident Qi Ling, the Blood Devil couldn't help but laugh and say, "So happy? What good thing happened?"
"Mind your own business! It's none of your concern!" Qi Ling retorted. "Do I have to tell you about this? I just achieved my long-held wish, getting a mother and daughter together! This kind of good thing is best kept to myself."
"Hehehe, nothing good has anything to do with me. You probably already know why I'm here, right?" the Blood Devil laughed. "The second half of the Demon God Contention Battle is about to begin. Are you ready?"
"Don't worry, I've made thorough preparations, enough to handle the second half of the competition," Qi Ling said confidently. "You should be able to see how much stronger I've become, right? I believe I have the ability, don't you?"
The Blood Devil looked Qi Ling up and down and laughed, "Hmm, not bad, you have indeed become much stronger. It seems you have made considerable progress in the past year and haven't wasted your time."
"Even so, you'd better not let your guard down, because while you are getting stronger, your opponents are also getting stronger. Just like now, do you know how many of your opponents have already completed their Godhood absorption and reached the level of True God?"
Qi Ling shook her head and honestly said, "I don't know that. Do you know?"
"I don't know!" the Blood Devil said with a smile.
Qi Ling couldn't help but scoff, "Tch, you talked so big, I thought you knew inside information, but it turns out you're just like me!"
"Hehe, although I don't know exactly how many of them there are, or whether their strength has reached the True God level, I can tell you who the strongest among them is," the Blood Devil laughed.
Qi Ling, upon hearing Blood Devil's words, replied, "Who else could it be? Didn't we already know who the strongest was? It's none other than Cang Yue, Chu Ling, Zhen Hong."
"Hmm? You know this already?" The Blood Devil chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, it seems I really don't have anything else to tell you."
"By the way, since that's the case, you must already know that Zhen Hong's strength level has reached the second ring, right?"
Qi Ling frowned, shook her head, and said, "I really don't know. Besides, Blood Devil, what exactly is this second-ring level you mentioned? I'm not really familiar with the power levels after becoming a god."
The Blood Devil chuckled, as if he had regained his confidence, and said, "Hehe, then you've come to the right person. Let the strongest being in the Devil Realm answer your question."
"Before understanding these things, you should first understand the concept of becoming a god. The sole criterion for becoming a god is to condense your first God Ring! Once you obtain this God Ring, you will transcend the realm of Demigod and can be called a True God."
Qi Ling nodded, then asked, "I see. So, Blood Devil, I have a question for you! If one hasn't obtained Godhood position, is it possible to condense God Ring and become True God?"
The Blood Devil chuckled, "Of course! The so-called Godhood is merely a shortcut; it shows you how to walk this path and prevents you from going astray."
"Therefore, even without Godhood position, as long as your comprehension and power are sufficient, you can naturally become a god and even continue to break through! However, that would take much longer, and there's no guarantee of success."
"How long will it take?" Qi Ling asked.
"Hmm, it varies from person to person. The longest one..." Blood Devil thought for a moment and said, "For example, that whale you killed, wasn't it just a little bit away from becoming a god?"
Qi Ling was taken aback. This timeframe seemed far too long; it was simply impossible! No wonder people were so determined to obtain Godhood.
"Don't think this is an exaggeration. Even the most talented person, without any help, would need a thousand years to cultivate into a god. Such a person might not appear even once every million years," the Blood Devil laughed at this moment.
"Wow, really? Not to mention the Devil Realm, there are hundreds or even thousands of gods in the Divine Realm alone. Where did all these people come from?" Qi Ling couldn't help but ask curiously.
To everyone's surprise, the Blood Devil sneered upon hearing this, saying with a mocking tone, "You should ask the Dragon God about that later! See what this good-natured man did back then and what he got in return."
"In short, you only need to know this: Godhood is the fastest, most effective, and safest shortcut to becoming a god! But besides that, there are many other ways to help others become gods. Even without Godhood, as long as you condense God Ring, you are True God!"
Qi Ling could only helplessly say, "Alright, alright, I understand what you mean. So, after obtaining Godhood, as long as you fully absorb Godhood power, you can become True God and condense the first God Ring, right? Then how do you obtain the second God Ring?"
"It's simple, just cultivate," the Blood Devil laughed. "After becoming a god, there are no shortcuts; everything depends on yourself. When your power and comprehension are sufficient to break through to the next realm, you will automatically obtain the second God Ring."
"Of course, breaking through to the God Ring is extremely difficult; it's not simply a matter of having enough power. The most important thing is comprehension! That's why some people, after becoming gods, remain only at the first ring level for their entire lives, while others can easily break through in just a few years."
"Oh? I see. That sounds interesting, but I wonder when I'll be able to obtain my own Godhood," Qi Ling said. "And if I have Dual Godhood, how will I obtain the God Ring? I can't possibly need to obtain two sets of God Ring, can I?"
"No need for that. The God Ring is a symbol of strength and enlightenment, and doesn't represent anything else. You can just focus on your cultivation," the Blood Devil said.
"And now you know how powerful your enemy is, right? I can tell you bluntly, you have no chance of winning against her!"
Qi Ling frowned and said, "Wow, really? So, does that mean I don't need to compete and can just admit defeat?"
"Hehehe, of course not! Not only can you not admit defeat, you must win!" the Blood Devil laughed. "This time, you still only have two paths to choose from: obtain the Demon God Godhood, or die!"
"Damn it, are I even your reincarnation? Why do you keep talking about dying and coming back to life? If I die, you won't be able to come back to life either!" Qi Ling said helplessly.
"Hehe, that's different. If you can't obtain the Demon God Godhood, it's not that I won't let you live, it's that you won't be able to live on your own!" the Blood Devil laughed.